Materials Study for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electorlyzers for Hydrogen Production with Intermittent Renewable Power

There is a global shift from fossil fuel-based predominant grid, towards incorporating more renewable energy sources. However, the intermittent nature of renewables like solar and wind power poses challenges for grid stability and reliability. Hydrogen production combined with water electrolysis can act as a form of energy storage, offering a way to balance supply and demand on the grid. To further improve the power performance of the proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWEs) for this application, in this work, various materials available are compared for the fabrication of PEMWEs, including the PTLs as both the anode and cathode sides, the assembling force, polymer electrolyte membrane and anodic catalysts. The largest current density is recorded with a thin N212 membrane using Iridium catalysts and platinized Ti-PTLs (30% porosity) at both sides, reaching a current density of 1.61 A/cm2 at 1.8 V. The key findings gained from these comparisons establish the necessary baseline conditions for the fabrication and operation of PEMWEs.